Looking Out: New Survey Reveals Views in Argentina of Trade, Great Power Relations

Event Co-sponsors

On October 12, we launched the ArgentinaPulse, a new national survey in Argentina by the Wilson Center and Argentina’s leading polling firm, Poliarquía.

At the launch, Poliarquía's president, Alejandro Catterberg, discussed the survey results, which reveal a significant divide between the Argentine government’s warm relationship with the Trump administration and the Argentine public’s more skeptical views of the White House, and the higher levels of support for U.S. rivals such as China and Russia. These findings are particularly notable in the run-up to President Trump’s visit to Buenos Aires. The survey also looks at views of the International Monetary Fund, which has approved its largest-ever financial bailout to rescue Argentina’s economy, but still faces a hostile public.

The event also included a panel discussion, with experts providing historical and regional analyses to explain public opinion in Argentina regarding global issues. Though Argentina’s geopolitical clout has increased – it hosted the World Trade Organization’s ministerial in December, and it hosts the G-20 leaders’ summit next month – the country has gone through periods of isolation, and it remains among the world’s least open economies. As Argentina reengages globally, it has seen much of the international community move in the opposite direction, in an era of ascendant populism and nationalism.

In this context, the views of Argentines of their country’s international posture are increasingly important to measure and understand, and to monitor closely as next year's presidential election draws near.

The Wilson Center, chartered by Congress as the living memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, is the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum. In tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue, the Center informs actionable ideas for Congress, the administration, and the broader policy community.